International Forum on Virtual Reality to be Held at ISU

Experts will gather to experience and discuss the latest in immersive technologies

AMES, Iowa - Virtual reality is rapidly becoming a mainstream tool in a variety of industries and applications. The technology is also emerging as a key to fostering collaboration via the latest computer and communications technologies.

These topics and more will be discussed June 19-20 as the world's leading experts in virtual reality converge at Iowa State University for the 4th International Immersive Projection Technology Workshop. Attendees of the event, called IPT 2000, will also experience numerous developments in virtual reality, thanks to state-of-the-art systems located in ISU's Howe Hall and elsewhere on campus. The workshop is expected to attract researchers, engineers, managers, teachers, students and artists from around the globe.

"This is the premier forum in the world for these technologies," said Carolina Cruz-Neira, IPT 2000 co-chair, associate director of ISU's Virtual Reality Applications Center and Litton assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at ISU. "We are excited to bring this meeting of leading thinkers in immersive technologies to our world-class program and facilities."

Organized by ISU's VRAC and the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering, Stuttgart, Germany, the conference will showcase new and unique work in projection-based immersive environments for virtual reality applications as well as the technology that goes into them. The event will also mark the opening of VRAC's new virtual reality facility, the C6.

Immersive projection technology takes on many forms, but the common objective is to surround users with computer-generated images and sound. Such systems allow participants to interact with the environment, furthering the realism of the experience and helping them view data in ways not before possible.

Immersive projection technology is the basis for most virtual reality environments. This technology is becoming widely used in visualization and simulation applications, including engineering design, virtual prototyping, architecture, art, manufacturing simulation, robotics, flight simulation, medicine, oil and gas exploration, education and entertainment.

During the workshop, participants will be using the C6, which completely surrounds users with images on four walls, the ceiling and floor. A new multimedia auditorium and computer labs in ISU's Howe Hall will be tapped for various technology demonstrations and sessions. VRAC's existing C2 immersive environment will also be used during the conference. "IPT 2000 will allow contributors to present their work in the form of talks and live demos using these facilities," said Cruz-Neira.

Sessions on collaboration will cover technologies and methods for using immersive technologies to allow people to work together more effectively. Collaboration is garnering a great deal of attention as researchers seek ways to facilitate teamwork and accelerate group efforts - especially over long distances - using today's computer and communications technologies. For instance, two immersive systems can be linked via a high-speed communications network to allow participants on both ends to share a common virtual environment.

Other sessions will focus on applications, software, human factors and projection technology. Panels will discuss the building of higher-resolution virtual environments and the emergence of virtual reality as a bona fide engineering tool. Presenters include researchers from ISU, Fraunhofer, other research institutions and industry.

Several hundred attendees are expected at the workshop. The conference is sponsored by leading vendors of hardware, software and services. Among them are two Iowa companies: MechDyne Corp., a Marshalltown company that designed and implemented C6 in cooperation with researchers at VRAC, and Engineering Animation Inc. of Ames. Other sponsors include SGI, BARCO, EDS, Fakespace Systems Inc., Panoram Technologies Inc., TAN and VR News.

The Virtual Reality Applications Center is a member of the Institute for Physical Research and Technology, a network of research and technology-transfer centers and industrial-outreach programs at Iowa State University. For more information, visit its Web site at www.vrac.iastate.edu. More information about IPT 2000, including a complete program, can be found at www.vrac.iastate.edu/ipt2000.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering's Virtual Reality Competence Center forms an interdisciplinary team in which engineers, computer scientists, designers and architects cooperate, explore and develop new innovative methods. For more information, visit its Web site at www.vr.iao.fhg.de

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Last updated September 6, 2006 rbm